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FPSC Classic Product Chat / PC Zone reviews FPSC

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Avenging Eagle
19
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Joined: 2nd Oct 2005
Location: UK
Posted: 18th Dec 2005 23:04
I bought the January edition of PC zone because of its preview of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, but on P76 i found a review of FPSC that i found slightly shocking.

They haven't published the article online but it goes something like this:
Quote: "...Well now, with FPS Creator, you too can create your own bog-standard blaster!"

It goes on to say how you need no knowledge of coding, then:
Quote: "The thing is, without coding or modelling skills, you're restricted to Nazi games or Zombie games, and terrible ones at that. If your coding skills amount to completing the beginner's Sudoku in The Guardian, FPS Creator is nothing more than a means of creating awful, featureless shooters."

And what about us, the user or FPSC
Quote: "Then again, if you're one of those long-haired greasy people who could actually create something decent with this software, you'll be the sort to briefly mock it before return to creating your own graphics engines, sub-routines and whatnot"

It breifly began to please me:
Quote: "That said, I had great fun developing my game, Space Zombies (in Space)-see it on the DVD-but only because i never took it seriously"

...Then, it slaughtered it again:
Quote: "Start taking FPS Creator seriosly, and it quickly becomes apparent how under-decent equipped it leaves you to create anything decent. The games you create are your own interlectual property too, a privelage afforded by the fact that nobody in their right mind will buy the tripe you develop."

Ouch! And on a final note...
Quote: "Don't get me wrong though, even though the end product is useless, creating your own game is fantastic fun-just don't expect to become the next Carmack. If you want to do that, start learning binary now."


Overall it gives FPSC 53% and says:
Good-
1) Great fun to develop with
2) A chnace to get creative
3) Zombies and Nazis can't be faulted
Bad-
1) Terrible engine
2) You won't make anything good
DIY FPS LOL
And lastly-
Graphics: A Horrible Shiny Mess
Sound: Awful Clanking noises
Multiplayer: You can create online games, surprizingly

Just thought i'd share this with you. What are your thought guys?
AE
=ChrisB=
19
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Joined: 23rd Jun 2005
Location: starring into a viewfinder
Posted: 18th Dec 2005 23:07
My tought is that that mag SUCKS A$$! I like PC World alot more.

Are you about to rock?

Then [b]I SALUTE YOU!!!
RJ is out Leave a message
18
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Joined: 7th Nov 2005
Location: The butt end of the U.S.
Posted: 18th Dec 2005 23:48
He may have a point if I can't get our game content to work with FPSC.
And then I will have to pay royalties for 3D Gamestudio. You would think this Lee Bamber and his crew would have gotten the message long
ago and now it realy looks like I flushed $80.00 bucks down the s*$t
hole. But at least it was only $80.00. We here at IAG just discovered
that the engine hates lenghly AVI's. Without our story the game engine
truely is crap. Unless Mr. Bamber and his people fix this issue by January 2006 there are going to br problems. I am suprised that you people haven't asked for you money back.

Rj
Vlad
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Posted: 19th Dec 2005 00:08
Quote: "My tought is that that mag SUCKS A$$! I like PC World alot more."


I think he was asking about the article, not the magazine.

Nevertheless, I think they didn't take the time to explore the possibilities, although they have a point here and there.

V

I'm pretty sure I know everything. Doubts are something rare in me and I am never wrong, as this signature can prove.
transient
19
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Location: Australia Zoo
Posted: 19th Dec 2005 03:11 Edited at: 19th Dec 2005 03:12
He makes the glib point that without modelling and coding skills you can't do doom 3.

The cool thing is you don't need to have these skills to get started, which is the beauty of this product.

It's easier to make a game in FPSC than to make a level in other engines.

Anyway, he said he had fun, which is the whole point really.

instinct is more valuable than intelligence.....
Torrey
20
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Joined: 20th Aug 2004
Location: New Jersey
Posted: 19th Dec 2005 04:09
Quote: "We here at IAG just discovered that the engine hates lenghly AVI's."


The reason being that it loads the AVI file into memory. If they used a streaming method and also used os threads they could save people a lot of problems. My audio plugin uses this better method, but unfortunetly I haven't tried writing a plugin for video yet.

gps
19
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Location: England
Posted: 19th Dec 2005 04:57
@Avenging Eagle - he said his FPSC game was on the DVD, have you looked at it yet?
uman
Retired Moderator
19
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Joined: 22nd Oct 2004
Location: UK
Posted: 19th Dec 2005 05:41
Users could best prove such reviews wrong if they feel strongly about FPSC by making some good games with it. That alone is the test of how good FPSC really is - notwithstanding of course that some may just enjoy the entertainment value of trying and I am sure many will.

Silvester
18
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Joined: 7th Dec 2005
Location: Netherlands
Posted: 19th Dec 2005 09:01
I read this number too but i burned it inmediantly!!!!!!

#@$@#@^&%^@#%#@$%$^&%$@#$%^$!!!!!!!!!

OK maybe the graphics are not the best? SO WHAT???????

I was always looking for something to create my own 3D games and i found this!
but WHY THEY NEED TO TELL THAT THE ENGINE IS BAD??????

**** THOSE LIARS!!!!!!!

My life is dedicated to dark,when i fail the wotld will be in lights hands.......
Avenging Eagle
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Location: UK
Posted: 19th Dec 2005 09:51
I tried loading it but it always fails and says:
"Failing to open Zip"

From the second half of the article (not quoted) details how th reporter made his own game-space Zombies (in Space)-by the looks of things, it was simply a few prefabs with some crates and a few zombies.

Nothing specail
AE
Vlad
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Posted: 19th Dec 2005 11:21
Quote: "WHY THEY NEED TO TELL THAT THE ENGINE IS BAD??????"


Maybe because it renders everything on the level, it does not allow save and load, it has some bugs that have been highly discussed on these forums.

Maybe they were looking for a state of the art engine and found an incomplete one.

The product is good, but not for the engine.

I'm pretty sure I know everything. Doubts are something rare in me and I am never wrong, as this signature can prove.
GGardar
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Posted: 19th Dec 2005 12:49
Fpsc is the chepest game making software you can't buy a other game making software for 50 $ with this quality's
And this fpsc got lots of bugs but still other engine's got way more bugs. If you want to make a better games that you can build you must pay mutch more and be a geek. You can make good game's with fpsc you just have to learn it. And the best thing is they are giveing the sourche code of the engine . And you can chanche the fpsc program using the map /files ex. lang,hunds, and effects and more settings for items.

pc. Cpu: 3000 amd xp+ ram 2gb
=ChrisB=
19
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Joined: 23rd Jun 2005
Location: starring into a viewfinder
Posted: 19th Dec 2005 12:50
Quote: " He may have a point if I can't get our game content to work with FPSC."


What the hell? Are you kidding? I have alot of custom media in my coppy.

Quote: "And then I will have to pay royalties for 3D Gamestudio"


Stupid, it DOESNT HAVE royalties.

Quote: "I flushed $80.00 bucks down the s*$t"


Good, cause you sound like the kind that can aford it.

Quote: "Unless Mr. Bamber and his people fix this issue by January 2006 there are going to br problems."


Oooh! What are yaou gonna do, go over to his house and bang on his door untill he comes out and gives you a tomato in the face? And then will you go and cry to mommy?

Quote: " I am suprised that you people haven't asked for you money back."


Are you crazy??!! Dude, you need to stop doing crack.




In short, my point is:


I need to make a thread saying, "HRY, ALL YOU F*GS, IF YOU DON"T LIKE FPSC, DONT B!TCH ABOUT IT!"

Are you about to rock?

Then [b]I SALUTE YOU!!!
GGardar
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Posted: 19th Dec 2005 13:05
Fpsc does not cost 80 $ it cost 50 $, And i think only 3 folk have told that the have ask for there money back on this forum.

pc. Cpu: 3000 amd xp+ ram 2gb
transient
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Location: Australia Zoo
Posted: 19th Dec 2005 14:59
I've noticed most of the hanging judges are fairly new to FPSC (or at least these forums).

I think there needs to be a degree of patience when it comes to people releasing they're games. Remember some engines/languages are out for years before anything major comes from them (if at all).

Mine's coming along nicely, but I want it to be somewhat decent before I show it off, and lately I haven't had much time to invest in it.

At least it's possible I'll finish my game now. Even if it ends up being a bit lame, at least it will exist - thanks to FPSC.

instinct is more valuable than intelligence.....
RastaMan
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Joined: 28th Aug 2005
Location: East Coast, USA
Posted: 21st Dec 2005 04:12
All great points. FPSC is still 'new' other than the EA version yet a year old.

The single question is.. 'Where is the patch?' to fix current known bugs and the models poll thread? There is no talk of up-coming packs by tgc.

Surely it's early, but no comment from TGC on these issues? Many can speculate, but no official word makes it a bit confusing. Are they working on model packs and a FPSC patch or not? Simple supportive posting from TGC will cure a lot of things in question.


http://www.rastaworld.com
- cave quid dicis, quando, et cui
Rick123
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Posted: 21st Dec 2005 04:46 Edited at: 21st Dec 2005 04:49
Quote: " Fpsc is the chepest game making software you can't buy a other game making software for 50 $ "


3D Game Studio's Standard version is 49.99$. It does not do alot of things, but it is something around 50$.

(The doc file attached, shows you the diffrent versions of 3D Game Studio, what they can do, and how much $$$.)

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Jason Webb
18
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Location: Southampton, UK
Posted: 21st Dec 2005 11:17 Edited at: 21st Dec 2005 11:41
Hmm, from the look of 3D Game Studio, unless you buy the $899
professional version you still get some form of "start-logo",
presumably saying "this was made with 3D Game Studio".

Also, you at least need the $199 commercial version to get any kind
of physics engine or bones animation.

Just to add my opinion to this, worse case scenario with FPSC, you've
got an instantly up-and-running test bed for your models. If at some
later point you wish to move up to a more advanced engine then at
least you'll already have a collection of custom models which you
can bring over, or if you happen to pursue a professional career
in 3D modelling for games then at least you can set up some nice
screenshots of your models in action for your portfolio.

Personally though, I think there is a lot of potential in FPSC. As
someone who has, in previous years, dabbled with building 3D games
from scratch with C++ I know how difficult and time consuming it
can be to get something even half decent so I'm quite glad that FPSC
lets me concentrate on what I really love doing... modelling and
actual game making.

Sure, it has it's problems but I've always found that if life is too
easy then you never learn and sometimes a hard lesson can be the one
that has the biggest character and experience building effect on you.
In my 18 year working career (yes, I'm 34) which has included some
very high profile and expensive projects (http://mirabellayachts.com/mirabella5/)
there is nothing that has annoyed me more than people who fall to
pieces at the slightest problem, and I think that anybody who has
ever worked in a "team" enviroment would probably agree. When the
brown stuff hits the fan you want people on your team who can pull
that extra bit of dedication and creative-thinking out of the bag
to tackle the problem.

So, you see, maybe FPSC with it's little quirks isn't a bad thing,
it just teaches you that sometimes in life you can't have things all
your own way... so find a solution and move on to the next challenge,
believe me, you'll be a better person for it.

Sorry about the "soapbox" moment, just my tuppence worth.

Best Regards

Jason

Owner - Music Genius Publishing
http://www.musicgenius.co.uk
Vlad
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Posted: 21st Dec 2005 12:08
Quote: "In my 18 year working career (yes, I'm 34) which has included some
very high profile and expensive projects (http://mirabellayachts.com/mirabella5/)
there is nothing that has annoyed me more than people who fall to
pieces at the slightest problem, and I think that anybody who has
ever worked in a "team" enviroment would probably agree."


Yes, I agree. The diference is that when a product in which a team works is bugged, the team gets answers, patchs, support and problem solving by the company that sold the software or some other measures are taken into account.

Imagine that FPSC was the authoring software of a real team project of yours. Real, meaning, with budget, timelines, milestone, constraints, hired personel, etc. Imagine you had got yourself a deal with a distributor that enjoyed a demo level your team did and you have a small going, let's say $100.000. And imagine that one of the people that is on your team says... "Erm... the guys that are scripting say they cannot save or load." Would you say "Be creative!" or would you call TGC to work with you since it's their product? How would you deal with the guys that just gave you $100.000?

You cannot compare the high-end projects where you worked or the case I just presented with FPSC though, and there resides the difference. What are the costs to the end user regarding the bugs and problems of FPSC? Basically, frustration so TGC is not exactly liable in monetary terms, so it's from the business point of view, no biggie.

Doing this for kicks, it's ok and therefor I do agree that people shouldn't give up at the slightest problem, still, the customer should be getting more attention, even if it's $50, even if it is for hobby stuff, etc, etc, etc. It's basic customer relantionship, but that's TGC's business and internal matter, I have no right to speak about it.

I am happy with TGC to be honest. I'm using DarkGame SDK and having a load of fun with it. I'm a bit frustrated with FPSC and I think some basic stuff should be reviewed, but that's not my problem. I also see a lot of potencial in FPSC, it is a real cool idea, but needs to be adressed and matured in order to bring to TGC even a bigger and more brighter future.

And just to stress my point further, I'm working on other stuff, didn't give up on FPSC, just waiting for better days and I am here for the community. Saying the engine has problems is not exactly lieing.

V

I'm pretty sure I know everything. Doubts are something rare in me and I am never wrong, as this signature can prove.
Jason Webb
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Location: Southampton, UK
Posted: 21st Dec 2005 12:39
Quote: "Imagine that FPSC was the authoring software of a real team project of yours. Real, meaning, with budget, timelines, milestone, constraints, hired personel, etc. Imagine you had got yourself a deal with a distributor that enjoyed a demo level your team did and you have a small going, let's say $100.000. And imagine that one of the people that is on your team says... "Erm... the guys that are scripting say they cannot save or load." Would you say "Be creative!" or would you call TGC to work with you since it's their product? How would you deal with the guys that just gave you $100.000?"


Personally I'd make sure that I knew the software inside-out,
including it's limitations, before entering into any kind of
financial or contractural arrangement based on it's results.

You're perfectly right though, I did go off on a tangent slightly.
I agree that TGC should provide support and bug-fixes as part of
their customer support programme but I do still feel that some
people do not neccesarily spend the time to explore the software
or find their own solution before crying "bug" or "patch". To go
back to your earlier point...
Quote: ""Erm... the guys that are scripting say they cannot save or load.""

In this situation your team wouldn't be able to just down tools and
go home, they would have to carry on with what they could until a
solution was found. There's no reason why FPSC should be any
different. The game I'm making will live or die on save/load being
available, but there's nothing I can do about save/load at the
moment so I'm just continuing work in the hope that it becomes
available at a later date. When (or if) it does then the rest of
my game will be ready for it. If save/load never materialises then
I will have to rethink my strategy at that time.

Ok, there probably isn't much comparison between a $55 million
yacht project and an FPSC game, but the way that people deal with
problems and set-backs should be the same. If people get worked up
over a $50 bit of software then how would they react if the weight
of a $55 million project was on their shoulders?

You do make some good points though, Vlad. Thanks for your feedback.

Best Regards

Jason

Owner - Music Genius Publishing
http://www.musicgenius.co.uk
Vlad
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Posted: 21st Dec 2005 13:32
The aparent diference of opinions between you and me resides in the fact that we are not discussing this directly, but through a forum.

Musicians tend to agree in stuff, execpt on what's good music.

All this to say, we agree.

V

I'm pretty sure I know everything. Doubts are something rare in me and I am never wrong, as this signature can prove.
Jason Webb
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Location: Southampton, UK
Posted: 21st Dec 2005 13:51
Lol! Please don't get me started on music!

Owner - Music Genius Publishing
http://www.musicgenius.co.uk
transient
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Location: Australia Zoo
Posted: 21st Dec 2005 14:07 Edited at: 21st Dec 2005 14:08
Feel the love...

I agree that these have all been good points though.

It's good to see.

instinct is more valuable than intelligence.....

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